Konree Innovation is one of three companies in Ireland and only 1 of 50 companies in the European Union to be awarded a WomenTech EU award.
This award is to support women-led DeepTech companies that are under-represented in Europe’s startup ecosystem and under invested financially by VC.
View the full Women TechEU Ranking List here (PDF)
Achieving a Union of Equality that promotes gender equality in all spheres of life, is one of the major priorities of the European Commission. The Commission is working with Member States and Associated Countries to promote women in leadership and close the gender gap in technology and innovation.
The opportunities created by novel technologies and disruptive innovations promise to deliver the fair and sustainable recovery Europe needs. However, if half the population is overlooked as a source of innovation and creative talent, Europe could miss out on these opportunities.
Deep tech accounts for over a quarter of Europe’s startup ecosystem, with European deep tech companies now valued at a combined €700 billion and counting. However, women remain largely underrepresented across this industry.
Founded on innovation in engineering and advances in science, deep tech startups tend to have longer R&D cycles, and often take more time and capital to build than other startups. Most could fail in their first years if they do not receive the right support and investment early on. Women in deep tech often face the additional hurdle of gender bias and stereotypes, particularly prevalent in sectors like technology.
Women TechEU addresses this innovation gender gap by supporting women-led deep tech start-ups at the early, riskiest stage. The scheme will offer financial support to women-led startups with grants of €75 000 and first-class coaching and mentoring through the EIC’s Women Leadership Programme. The EIC’s main Accelerator programme also targets women-led start-ups, but the new Women TechEU scheme provides support at the earlier, formative stage of companies in order to increase the number of women launching their own start-ups.
